Our Defense is on All Star Break Apparently… The Lakers starters got out of the gates poorly once again, giving up 25 points midway through the first quarter. There have been no changes to this starting lineup. They just have not gotten it done in the last two games.

“That kind of set the tone for the rest of the night,” Luke said of those 25 points.

A franchise record for any quarter as the Pelicans opened the game with that 46-point first quarter. If that wasn’t enough, Isaiah Thomas would get ejected early on in this one for Rondo instigating some non-basketball grudge of some type (see below).

The Lakers would trim a 22-point lead down to 5 in that first half, but would fall back again after a series of techs, which saw Luke getting tossed. And with that they would trail 79-66 at the half.

Still, they would cut the lead to 2 in the third quarter, but the scoring would dry up and the Pelicans got separation once again with a 13-2 run. The Lakers would fade into the night, and the Pelicans would tie the most points in franchise history in their 139-117 win over the Lakers.

Name one part of the Lakers defense, and it's having issues right now.

Randle -- -- He certainly could have used some tag team help from Nance defensively in this game against Davis, who finished with 42 on 18 shots. Plenty of shots you won’t be able to defend against AD, but getting backdoored for a lob dunk or overplaying on the perimeter while he still had his dribble alive to get caught for an easy drive and score…those are the types of plays you need to prevent. For Randle, he got back about half of the points Davis scored. He had 12 points on 5-7 shooting in the first half. Just overpowering guys in the paint. Too many turnovers. He and Ingram combined for 9. Randle ended up on the floor trying to recover them a couple of times. The Stats: He scored 20 points on 9-13 shooting (2-2 from the line) to go with 5 boards, 3 assists, 1 block, 4 turnovers and 3 fouls in 31 minutes. He was a -24. The Action: He worked the post, drop-stepped and banked in the jumphook. He missed a layup after a couple of fakes under the hoop. His bounce pass was picked off. He posted up, spun, up-faked and powered in an And-1 layup, he made the FT. He got backdoored for a lob dunk. He missed a layup. His kickout was picked off. He scored a layup in the post, taking out a man with the off-arm in the process. He attacked the middle of the paint, up-faked, took contact and powered in an And-1 layup next time down, he made the FT. He fumbled a pass away, then was called for a loose ball foul trying to recover it. Horrible D on the perimeter, giving up a layup with bad position. He posted up, was stripped, got it back and dunked. Second Half: He attacked AD quickly in the post and scored a layup. He kicked out to Lopez for three. He missed a short one in the middle of the paint. He overpowered his man in the post and scored a layup. He was blocked trying to power up in the post. He grabbed a rebound and dunked. He dunked in transition when the D was late to matchup.

Ingram -- -- Good, bad and ugly … an really ugly from Ingram tonight. Starting with the good, some excellent finishes at the rim when he was attacked. He had 13 points on 5-11 shooting, just not hitting from the perimeter at all to start this game. That perimeter shooting was the bad. He knocked down a couple of midrange shots in the second half, but he forced up some bad ones. I did not like the shot selection at times. It’s especially frustrating when you’ve got perimeter shooters out there and we’re forcing up challenged midrange jumpers with plenty of time on the clock. Or when BI gets middle on a screen and has Randle rolling and instead he shoots the jumper when a pass would have gotten a dunk. Defensively, was the ugly. He was really poor in help situations. He mentioned that after the game that if he’s covering Rajon, he needs to be more active in help situations (see Kobe). Overall, though, just not much of a factor on that end. On the “really ugly” was some of his turnovers. He was picked in the backcourt by AD for a score and some his post entry passes left a lot to be desired. That should really be a strength of his with his length, but he needs to read the D and the entry angles better. The Stats: He scored 21 points on 9-17 shooting (0-1 from three, 3-4 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 5 assists, 1 steals, 5 turnovers and 5 fouls in 31 minutes. He was a -5. The Action: He missed a three behind a screen. He missed an easy baseline jumper. He missed another baseline jumper. He swiped a pass under the hoop, pushed it out and scored a layup. Bad decision to go for a pull-up jumper when he got middle and had Julius rolling wide open on the roll, he missed the jumper. He missed a turnaround in the paint. He didn’t settle on a drive and this time earned FTs at the rim, he made one. He missed a reverse, got it back and was fouled with 1.4 left, he made both FTs. He hit Frye for the three. He was picked in the backcourt by Davis for a dunk, come on BI. He attacked the paint, got body contact on Davis and scored a layup over him. He was called for a charge on a drive. He took a pass and hammered in transition. He attacked baseline and reversed. He scored a layup trailing the break. Second Half: He was stripped in transition to give up a score the other way. He took the outlet from Hart in transition, attacked between bigs and scored a layup. Awful post entry pass and it was stolen easily. He missed a turnaround in the post. He weaved through the D and dunked. Awful shot selection trying for a pull-up from midrange on iso and he bricked. He swished an elbow pull-up jumper on iso, still not great shot selection. He sank a pull-up 19-footer, this one with better space. Then he fouled on a made three on the other end to kill us for good in this one. Another post entry pass swiped.

Lopez -- -- Seemed like his touch in the paint was off in this one. He had some good looks he usually hits there but missed. His three stroke looked great and he sank a couple of those. Defensively, really no impact. He got caught in no man’s land at times and did not alter much in this game. The Stats: He scored 8 points on 3-9 shooting (2-4 from three) to go with 3 boards, 1 turnover and 3 fouls in 18 minutes. He was a -3. The Action: He missed a corner three. He hit a floater attacking off the three line. Second Half: He missed an easy jumphook over AD in the post. He missed again in the post against AD next time down on the same sequence. He swished a sideline three on a kickout (excellent form on that one). So next time down, he drained a three trailing the break. He attacked across the middle of the paint and missed. He missed a three trailing the break. Weak rebound and he was stripped. He attacked and missed a runner.

Hart -- -- Was not thrilled with his defense early on. Very soft and that hurt us out of the gates. Such is life for a rookie. He’s usually a lot better than that, though. Some of our transition D was awful and his decision making there was not good. He definitely played a roll in that -22 he tallied. Offensively, he’d miss his first shot and then knock down everything else the rest of the way. He sank all three of his threes. Loving the three shooting lately. Just money. The Stats: He scored 15 points on 5-6 shooting (3-3 from three, 2-3 from the line) to go with 6 boards, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 2 turnovers and 1 foul in 31 minutes. He was a -22. The Action: He missed a wing jumper curling around a screen to start the game. He knocked a pass loose. He sank a wing three in early offense. Awful transition D leaving a man open behind him for a layup. He swiped a pass and ignited the break. He hit KCP cutting for a layup. He hit Ingram trailing the break for a layup. He grabbed an offensive board, gave it up, got it back and hit the three. Second Half: He grabbed a rebound and ignited the break for an Ingram score. Great D on AD on a switch, forcing a missed turnaround jumper. Not so lucky next time on the switch. He took a pass in the lane and was hacked, he made both FTs. He attacked the paint to his left and finished with his left. He grabbed a board, pushed it out and scored an And-1 layup a few seconds later, he missed the FT. He sank a corner three. He grabbed a board but was picked from behind as he started to push out. He attacked and was stripped for a dunk the other way.

Caldwell-Pope -- -- He led the team with 33 minutes. For stretches of that you could hardly tell he was out there. Not a lot of shots and a couple poor looks among those. He did move the ball to somehow lead the team with 8 assists. Was not one of those games where a guy is collapsing the D and setting up others. Just simple passes. The Stats: He scored 5 points on 2-6 shooting (1-2 from three) to go with 8 boards, 8 assists, 1 block, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 33 minutes. He was a -18. The Action: He attacked and threw a pass away (three the other way). He cut off Hart’s drive, took a pass and scored a layup. He was blocked trying to finish a layup. Second Half: He blocked his man on iso. He sank a wing three in transition. He missed a three in transition. He missed a jumper from the top of the key. He missed a fading midrange jumper.

Thomas -- -- He said Rondo brought up stuff about his video tribute thing with the Celtics. “My team beat his team in the playoffs last year, maybe that’s what was wrong,” Thomas said. He said Rondo had an agenda as soon as he came in the game. Just 5 minutes in this game before he and Rondo got ejected. Rondo was clearly instigating it with a cheap shot to the head off ball for a flagrant-1 (Isaiah said he got hit in the head three times while the two were matched up). Then on the subsequent inbounds, they got into it again and Isaiah was ejected. Seemed like the officials lost their cool. IT wasn’t the instigator and turned into a casualty. Kind of bogus. Luke said this was part of his frustration for getting ejected later. He said the refs were taking the lazy way out in that. “He was confused why he got tossed out,” Luke said. In any event, can’t blame the bad D on him, although he did contribute to the turnovers in that first quarter. The team was a -2 in his brief stint before going to the locker room. Bummer. No opportunity to get any meaningful run with his new team. He and Luke watched the game together in the locker room. The Stats: He scored 3 points on 1-1 shooting (1-1 from the line) to go with 1 board, 2 assists, 2 turnovers and no fouls in 5 minutes. He was a -2. The Action: He attacked off a handoff in early offense and scored a layup. Rondo gave him a forearm to the head away from the ball, a flagrant-1, IT made the FT. Then they both got a double tech on the next play. Both were then kicked out.

Kuzma -- -- He had 19 points in the first half on 8-12 shooting and picked up a tech that got Luke ejected. Kuzma jumped after they blew the whistle on him for a steal he thought he had and they T’d him up. He’d only score 4 points in the second half on 2-8 shooting. Some nice finishes around the rim (dunks in transition, an up-and-under to lose Davis). He also buried three threes. Again, he needs to pick up the defensive work with Nance no longer out there. He missed some reads again tonight and wasn’t quite as active on the defensive glass as he has been. Still, love when he gets into those flurries for scores. We played him a little at the SF tonight, not much, but glad they seem to be experimenting with that more lately. The Stats: He scored 23 points on 10-20 shooting (3-8 from three) to go with 5 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal, 2 turnovers and 2 fouls in 27 minutes. He was a -14. The Action: He sank a corner three on a kickout. He up-faked, attacked off the three line and scored a layup. He sank a wing three on his next touch. He took a pass rolling to the hoop and scored the layup. He swished a corner three on a kickout in transition. He missed a wing three. He posed up and swished a hook across the lane. He missed a three out of a timeout, not going up straight on that. Wild pass in transition, turnover. He attacked and charged to erase a layup. He swiped a pass in the paint, pushed out the dribble and hammered at high speed (Davis didn’t want to challenge that one). He didn’t hit rim on a three. He attacked off the three line and finger rolled a layup. He posted up and hit Payton cutting for a dunk. He attacked baseline and couldn’t finish the layup. Second Half: He gave up a dunk switching while his man still had his dribble. He was blocked on a three for a layup the other way. He was blocked on a dunk attempt, but Randle cleaned it up. Great job changing ends and Brewer hit him ahead of the pack with a bounce pass for a dunk. He grabbed a loose ball, attacked, lost Davis on an up-and-under and scored the layup. He missed a long pull-up jumper. He missed a turnaround in the post. He attacked and was rejected out of bounds. He missed an off-balance wing three.

Frye -- -- We need to take better advantage of his floor spacing abilities when he’s out there. Whether that’s with him just providing floor spacing in specific sets to make it easier on others or actually giving him the ball for threes. He sank his only attempt from three tonight. You use integrate him well offensively so you can survive on the defensive end. When he matched up with AD defensively, that was a bit tough. Not enough foot speed. The Stats: He scored 3 points on 1-1 shooting to go with 2 fouls in 11 minutes. He was a +6. The Action: His handoff was picked off for a dunk. He swished a three on a kickout. Second Half: He relaxed and gave an open 15-footer to Davis.

Brewer -- -- Some up and down moments for Corey. He had a nice stretch in the second half where he sparked the team for some transition scores and stops. Then he had some poor turnovers and was blocked by the rim on a dunk. The Stats: He scored 9 points on 2-5 shooting (5-6 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 4 assists, 1 steal and 2 turnovers and 1 foul in 20 minutes. He was a -4. The Action: He took a pass under the hoop, up-faked AD and drew FTs, he made both. Second Half: Quick attack off the three line and he scored a layup in transition. Sweet bounce pass on the pushout a few seconds later to Kuzma for a dunk. He then drew an offensive foul on the Pelicans on a handoff for another stop. He attacked and was blocked on a layup. He traveled after taking a pass on a cut. He drew FTs and made one. He stepped on the line on a push off. He drew FTs, he made both. He challenged a shot on one end and scored a layup on the other. He missed a layup in transition. He was blocked by the rim on a reverse dunk.

Zubac -- -- He came in to take freethrows when IT was ejected. He made them both. But most of his time came during our garbage time run. He’d score his other hoop off an offensive board behind a man. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 1-2 shooting (2-2 from the line) to go with 2 boards, 1 assist, 1 turnover and 1 foul in 6 minutes. He was a -2. The Action: He was picked to take IT’s freethrows, he made both FTs. Second Half: His kickout was stolen. He grabbed an offensive board behind a man and scored a layup. He was blocked on a dunk attempt.

Payton -- -- With IT out, we went to our deep bench to replace him. That put Payton ahead of Ennis (no Caruso). In for Ingram with about 4 minutes left in the first half. Both his hoops were on dunks. The first one was on a nice cut when his defender turned his head and Payton cut to take a pass. The other was garbage time. Caruso is the better choice here as a two-way threat, but I think his 45 day limit will hold him from appearances. The Stats: He scored 4 points on 2-4 shooting (0-1 from three) to go with 2 offensive boards and 2 fouls in 17 minutes. He was a -16. The Action: He didn’t match up in transition and gave up an open three. He missed a wing three on a kickout. He cut as Kuzma posted, took the pass and dunked. Second Half: He missed a layup attempt off a cut. Garbage time dunk.

Bryant -- -- In for garbage time in the fourth. He made a baseline jumper for his only points. The Stats: He scored 2 points on 1-2 shooting (0-1 from three) to go with 1 board and no fouls in 5 minutes. He was a -4. The Action: He did not play in the first half. Second Half: He swished a baseline jumper on a kickout. He missed a three trailing the break.

Ennis -- -- Last man in. But he was chucking and getting up shots. The Stats: He didn’t score on 0-4 shooting (0-1 from three) in 5 minutes. He was a -2. The Action: He did not play in the first half. Second Half: He attacked and missed a lefty layup. He missed a drive. He missed a pull-up from 15. He missed a wing three.

Walton & Shaw -- -- The Lakers quickly trailed 12-2 out of the gates. Hart getting toasted early and Luke called a timeout after 3 minutes… They trailed 25-12 when the timeout came again midway through the quarter. Too many points to start this quarter... He brought in IT out of that timeout for KCP and Brewer for Ingram… Kuzma in for Lopez, Lakers down 11… The Lakers trailed by 15 when AD sat. Ingram and Frye in for Randle and Hart… Lakers down 22 now… IT/Rondo got kicked out. So they picked Zubac off the bench to shoot FTs. Lakers had a 6-point possession to cut it to 15 off that… The Lakers trailed 46-33 after the first quarter. Ridiculous… He started Frye, Kuzma, Brewer, KCP and Ingram… Kuzma helping them cut it to 5 and force a timeout… Randle and Hart in for Frye and Brewer down 9… Luke losing his mind after a turnover and transition score. Not sure who he was targeting on that tirade, possibly a ref… Payton in for Ingram… Luke got ejected after Kuzma getting a tech for jumping after a whistle… So a series of tech and we fall back big again. A 5-point possession for the Pelicans… The Lakers trailed 79-66 at the half. They shot 61%, the Pelicans 58%. Davis with 31 points in the first half (10-11 FG, 9-9 FT). Lakers had 11 turnovers… They cut it to 7 to force a timeout to start the third… They cut it to 2… That ballooned back to 10 again… Shaw called timeout when it was back to 13 with 3 minutes left… He went with a Frye, Kuzma, Ingram, Brewer, Payton lineup… The Lakers trailed 103-91 heading into the fourth… He started the Frye, Kuzma, Ingram, Brewer, Payton lineup again… Randle and KCP in for Payton and Frye… Ingram picked up his fifth with 9:20 left to give up a 4-point play. That killed us for good down 17… Lopez in a few seconds later. Kuzma at SF… Bryant in for Lopez with 5 minutes left… Down 18 with the Zubac, Bryant, Brewer, Hart, Payton lineup… Davis finished with 42 points on 18 shots… “I’ll choose not to speak on that,” Luke said of the ejection and officiating…